Cigarette smoke and bubblegum
by yell0wdrops
Summary: -ON HIATUS UNTIL 18th-25th OF JUNE!- Marceline is an 18-year old college dropout. She rents an apartment with her friend Keila, works at a coffee shop and plays in a band. Life is simple, but good, until she runs into a certain pink-haired girl. - Bubbline! Human/coffee shop/band AU - Rated T for swears, may change to M later on.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is my first fanfic! It's a bubbline one, so if you're not into that, well... I haven't read the actual Scream Queens comics, so there may be a few mistakes in the personalities of the bandmembers. Oh and since it's my first fanfic, I could probably use some advise. If you guys have any tips/notice any mistakes, I'd be really happy to hear them! The chapters will be around 700-1000 words, sometimes maybe a little shorter or a little longer. Anyway, have fun reading!_  
_- yell0w**  
**_

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**Chapter one**

It was cold outside that day. I was hanging with Keila in an alley behing a small cafe. The Blackheaded Pig, it was called. It was the same cafe as where we would perform that night. Me and the band, I mean. The Scream Queens, we called ourselves. I was the main vocalist, and I played bass. Keila was one of the other members. She played the guitar and did backvocals. There were also Guy, who played the keyboard and sometimes did backvocals with Keila, and there was Bongo, who gave our music rythm with his drums. Guy and Bongo had been busy setting up the equipment for our performance, when Keila said she was going outside for a smoke. I joined her, saying I needed to get some fresh air. And so we went out, to the alley we were in now.

I was leaning on the side of the building, one foot raised up and bent to meet the bricks with its sole. Keila looked about the pocket of her jacket to find her cigarettes. She found them, took one out of the pack, then whipped out her lighter. She took a sip of the cigarette, lifted up her head and beathed a small cloud of smoke to the sky above us. She then looked at me.

"Hey, you want one?"

She held out the pack to me. I took one of the cigarettes, muttered a 'Thanks'. She passed me the lighter.

"You seem awfully quiet, Marce," she said after a few moments had passed.

"Yeah..." I breathed in the smoke and blew out slowly. "First gig we're doing in months. Guess I'm just a bit nervous, y'know."

Keila nodded understandingly.

"Do you know who're coming?" I asked her.

"People from school mostly, I think. Maybe a few people we don't know, who heard about it through others."

I took another puff of my cigarette. "Right."

Keila put down her arm, studying me. Smoke circled around her hand.

"You don't seem nervous. Just down."

I looked at her for a few seconds, then turned away my eyes, not replying.

"Still upset you had to drop out?" she asks.

"I guess. Even though I wanted to, myself." I must've looked a bit sorry.

"You are sure about it, right?" she asks me.

"I am. I mean, I won't achieve anything by going to that shitty place. You know how bad my grades were and how much I hated going there everyday."

"Well, if you're really sure, then I suppose this is better for you."

I nodded. "It's just different now. It'll take some time before I completely get used to it, I guess. Anyway, I told my boss that I can now work full days, instead of some random evenings. He seemed pretty pleased with that. I think he likes me. The way I work and treat the customers, I mean."

"Yeah, I got that. But are you happy, working at that place?"

"I think so," I say. "It pays pretty much alright and the work's not too bad, either. Making some coffee. Talking to people and stuff. Most of them are okay."

"Alright. That's cool."

"Yeah."

Keila leaned to the wall, like I did. We smoked our cigarettes in silence. At last, we threw our buds onto the ground and went back inside. We were greeted by Bongo, who was lifting a big box, the word _CABLES_ written on it in a sloppy handwriting.

"Back again, ladies?" he asked, then laughed.

I cracked a grin. He then asked us to help with the cables. I was happy to do that. Would keep me busy, at least until we would start playing. And after an hour, we finally did start playing.

Though it was the first performance we would do in months, like I mentioned before, it went smoothly. We played some of the new songs we'd come up with while we hadn't performed, and a few old ones. Some people recognized the old songs - of course, we had performed them a few times before, in this very cafe - and sang along as far as they knew the lyrics.

I felt happy, reliving the same kick as I always got from playing live; and after we were done and had gotten together our equipment again, I grinned satisfied.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: 'sup, guys! I thought I'd just upload the next part the day after, because I couldn't wait any longer. I should say that I am changing Marcy's age to 18 instead of 17, because of... future events. Hehe. Have fun reading!_  
_- yell0w_

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**Chapter two**

"Hey guys, you wanna go get a drink?" Guy asked when we stepped outside. "I mean, it's just past eleven, and who even cares that we have school tomorrow?"

I looked at Keila and Bongo.

"I'm up for it," Bongo said. Keila said she was too.

I hesitated.

"Aw, c'mon, Marce. You don't have work tomorrow, do you?"

"Well..." I said. "I don't have to get there until one, but..."

The others looked at me expectantly. I sighed. "Well, okay. I'll come."

"That's our girl," Bongo said. Guy patted me on the back.

I knew where we would go. Nearby The Blackheaded Pig, where we usually play, there was a bar called Dutch. We would always go there when we had just performed. It sort of had become routine for us now. And so we started walking there that night, too.  
It would take only fifteen minutes walking to get there. And though I was satisfied with the show we'd just given, I wasn't really up for it. Laughing and talking, and getting drunk, I mean.  
I walked a bit behind the others. Keila looked at me a few times, asking if I were all right. I said I was, at first. Then when we were almost there, I said I wanted to go home.

"I thought you said you'd come," Guy said. He looked at me as if me going home would immediately ruin the whole night. I instantly felt annoyed by that. As more things annoyed me about him. Unlike the others, I had always sort of disliked Guy, though I would never say that out loud.

"Yeah, but now I'm saying I won't," I said, doing my best to hide my annoyance.

Guy looked at me and was about to say something snarky, but before he had the chance, Keila asked me if I didn't feel well.

I shook my head. "Not really. I'd rather just go home and go to bed."

"That's alright."

She hugged me and said: "Don't mind Guy. He's just happy our performance went so well and wants to get drunk." She pulled away again.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Later," Bongo said. Keila waved to me. Guy said nothing.

I turned around and started walking back the way we had come. I looked around as I passed the buildings. I'd lied about wanting to go home. I didn't actually want to. I just wanted to be alone for a bit. Didn't quite feel like having company that evening. And so I just slowly wandered about the streets, looking for a quiet place where I could get a drink, and maybe write for a bit.  
I would have gone to The Mugholder, the coffee shop where I now had a fulltime job, if it hadn't closed about an hour ago. It did every night around ten.  
So, I entered a small place of which I don't remember the name. I'd been there a few times before. It was always pretty cozy inside, and most people that came to the place were regular customers.  
I went up to the bar, ordered a beer, and after I'd gotten it I took it to a small, round table in the corner. There I set down the case of my bass against the wooden wall and sat down. I'd forgotten my notebook, so I took some pieces of paper and a pencil from my shoulder bag. Then I started writing.  
After some time I'd come up with a few small pieces. One serious (though not yet finished), the rest were silly songs. I put the silly ones and the pencil back in my bag, and strapped my bass to my back.  
After paying for the few beers I'd drunk I went outside. It had gotten a bit colder. I looked at the time on my phone. Half past midnight. It wasn't really that late. I supposed Keila, Bongo and Guy were still at Dutch.  
I shivered for a moment and dug my chin inside the collar of my jacket, then started walking home. 'Home' meant the apartment I rented with Keila. It was small and on the second floor of a pretty big building. We both had our own bedrooms and shared a living room and kitchen. I'd moved out of my dad's house a few months after my eighteenth birthday - I was now almost nineteen, and the youngest of the bandmembers - and since it was really hard to get an apartment of my own, Keila'd said she'd move in with me. And so we got a place together. It wasn't much, but we were happy enough with it.  
Some time after that I got the job I currently have, at The Mugholder. The place was just a few blocks away from our apartment. I was just looking for a small job - maybe to be a waitress or to sell clothes or something, anything that wasn't too hard and made some money - when I stumbled upon the coffee shop and the poster on the door that said they were looking for someone for the evenings. I immediately went inside.  
The owner, Mr Way, asked me a few questions, about how old I was, wether I lived nearby and where I went to school. He was okay with the fact that I'd never gotten an actual job before and handed me a form that I was to fill in. The next day he called me and I'd gotten the job.  
With the money I made I paid part of the rent (my dad used to pay for all my stuff at first, but we had agreed it had become time for me to pay for things myself) and bought my own food, clothing... Let's just say all the things I needed.  
The first few days, the apartment Keila and I had just gotten seemed cold and empty. Neither of us had really taken a lot of things. I'd just taken my clothes, my bass, my books and some other personal belongings, and so had Keila. My dad had helped me to get my bed and desk there (buying new stuff is way too expensive), and he and I had helped Keila get her bed into the apartment too. Bongo's parents had an old fridge that we could get for free. That was all the stuff we had, the first few days. But we searched some thrift shops and small markets for old things for in our apartment, and eventually it became less cold and empty.  
And that place, was where I was headed when I stumbled into her.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: 'sup! This chapter is pretty short compared to the first ones... And though I said the chapters would be about 700-1000 words, some will be considerably longer. Or a little shorter, like this one! I'd also like to say that I will update every week on Saturdays or Sundays (maybe Fridays). It depends on when I have time. Oh, and I fixed a few small mistakes in chapter two.  
Thanks for the favourites and follows! Enjoy reading!  
- yell0w_

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**Chapter three**

I was holding a bunch of papers in my hands and looking at the one on top, which was the sheet with the just-written serious lyrics on it. I was reading them while I walked home, softly humming and singing, trying out different notes and melodies. Obviously, I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings, otherwise I wouldn't have walked into her.  
And I supposed she wasn't either.  
So, all of a sudden, we just sort of crashed into each other. Luckily, neither of us fell, but the papers did.

"Sorry!" I heard a sweet voice say. "It's all my fault, I wasn't paying attention!"

I looked up to her, and saw someone who looked somewhat familiar. Two brown eyes behind her round glasses, a pretty face and long streaks of hair that had been dyed pink. She was dressed in a light tunic that went to just above her knees, with flats below. She looked a bit like a princess, actually. I wasn't quite sure where I had seen this girl before, though. She looked concerned.

"Don't be sorry," I said. "I wasn't paying attention either."

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," I replied, and smiled to reassure her that I was alright. "Maybe we should uhh..." I nodded to the papers on the ground.

"Yeah."

We both sunk down to gather the sheets. I had grabbed a few, before I noticed that not all of them were lyrics.

"Those are mine," she said, again in her sweet voice. "Schoolwork and stuff."

"Right."

I gave her her sheets, and she gave my mine. Then we both got up. I expected her to immediately excuse herself and be on her way again, but she stood still, studying my face while squinting her eyes a bit.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked. "You seem familiar."

"Yeah, I was just thinking that," I said, but didn't study her face as she did mine. I felt a bit awkward, with her looking at me like that.

It took a few seconds, before I suddenly heard: "Oh! I remember! You're one of the guys from The Scream Queens, right?

I wanted to reply, but before I had the chance she said: "I've seen you guys perform a while back here in the city."

It was pretty obvious where I'd seen her before, now. But I still couldn't recall it.

"You're Marceline... Aberdee? Did I get that right?"

"Marceline Abadeer," I corrected her. "We've played a few times around here, yeah. In The Blackheaded Pig, mostly."

"Right, I have heard of that place. So you guys live around here?"

I nodded. "And you live here too, I assume?"

"That is right. And also quite obvious, I think!" She laughed, though it wasn't necessarily funny. I smiled politely.

"Well, I have to go, now," she said after a moment. "It's already late and I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Yeah, I should go too," I replied.

"Maybe I'll see you around."

I looked at her for a few seconds. "Maybe."

Her sweet smile returned again, and she waved, before turning around me, for of course, she had to go the opposite way of where I had to go, and walked off. I watched her go, a curious look on my face. She walked calmly, but with a quick pace, and soon she turned in a street or an alley, and was out of my sight.  
I wasn't really sure what to think of her, at that moment. But I would know soon.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: 'sup everyone! I'm sorry to say this is a pretty boring chapter. But it's only the beginning of the story, after all. I think there won't be much boring chapters after this._  
_I should tell you guys that I have exams in about three weeks and I'm not sure wether I can update in the weekends of March 15/16 and 22/23. I'll try my best, but it's possible that you guys have to wait. I'll definitely update (maybe even double-update?!) after my exams, though. Don't want to be one of those people who starts a fanfic and then abandons it just like that. *looks at the writers of multichaptered stories suspiciously*_  
_Anyway, hope you enjoy it!_  
_- yell0w_

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**Chapter four**

I walked the rest of the way to my home without looking at my lyric sheets, but softly humming a tune anyway.  
When I opened the door and looked at the round clock on the wall - we'd thought of getting one because the walls looked so empty without anything on it - I saw that it was almost one. Keila's probably not home yet, I thought. I looked in the living room, which was left in the hallway, and she wasn't there. Neither was she in her own room, which was opposite of the living room and left of the bathroom.  
I sighed. I put down all my stuff for a minute so I could go to the toilet before I'd go to bed. So that's what I did. I then quickly washed my hands and my face, before picking up all of my stuff again, to put it down in my own room. I placed the bass beside my nightstand, in the corner opposite to the one where my bed stood against the wall. Then I placed my bag and the small pile of sheets on the desk by the door. I quickly closed the latter and went to my bed, undressing myself as I slowly stepped towards it. I didn't have to close the curtains before the window. There were shut most of the time.  
I swiftly threw my nightshirt on, before letting myself fall on the bed, pulling up the covers, and falling fast asleep.

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of my alarm clock. I didn't actually have to get up that early on Fridays, and neither on Mondays. I worked evening shifts on those days, from one PM until ten in the evening. But I just liked getting up early, sometimes.  
It turned out that Keila was still asleep, even though she had to be at school soon, so I woke her up. I told her I'd make her breakfast then if she would cook the next day.  
Just before eight she left. I always did the groceries for the weekend on days I had evening shifts, so I decided to go do that. I took a shower and got dressed in a simple hoodie, a pair of jeans and some sneakers. Nothing special.  
After I'd done that, I reached into the little metal box where Keila and I kept our shared money. We both preferred cash to credit cards. At least with cash you knew exactly how much you had left. I went back to my room to get my jacket and looked at my bass. Why not just take it with me? I thought. I could practice for a bit in the park.  
I picked up the case, strapped it to my back, and left the apartment.

An hour later, I was sitting on a bench in the park, the empty case of my bass placed left of me on the seating, the plastic bag with groceries on the right side. I just strummed for a bit. Played some old songs, some new ones, sang along with them. A few people stopped to watch and listen for a while. Some of them placed some cash in my case. I grinned a "Thank you" whenever someone dropped a coin in it, though I wasn't playing there to get any money out of it. I just liked playing in the open air.  
After I'd played for a while, I looked at the time on my phone. Almost ten. I'd been here for more than an hour.  
I decided to go back home to drop off the groceries and my bass, and then pay a visit to a friend of mine. After all, I still had some time before I had to be at work.  
I walked home slowly, not in any kind of rush. The park was fifteen minutes walking from the apartment. It was pretty close to The Blackheaded Pig, where The Scream Queens had played the night before.  
I put the bass back in my room and put the groceries in the fridge and in the cupboards. I thought for a second, then decided to put on my work clothes already. The 'uniform' consisted of a white tee (or sweater when it was a little cold, like today) with The Mugholder's logo on it, and a grey apron. I was free to wear my own jeans and shoes with it. I didn't put the apron on just yet, just took it with me in my bag. I then left again.  
I went to the train station. The place I was going to was too far to walk. It'd take me an hour, probably, so I took the subway. The ride was boring, as always, and lasted twenty minutes. From the station it was only two blocks away, so I got to the place quickly. I rang the doorbell.

"Yeah, I'm comin'!"

A deep voice sounded from the inside of the house. I heard the stumbling of feet on stairs. The door opened, and I was greeted by a friendly face.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Double update surprise!  
This chapter is just a short filler, but there will be another one up in a few minutes. In an hour or tomorrow there will be a third one._.. _I said I would do a cute oneshot, but last week my laptop crashed and I lost all of my files, so instead I decided to do a few extra updates on this fic.  
A tip for everyone with important files; make sure you store all your documents on an external hard drive or on a cloud network! (I use Google drive and it works awesomely for me). Enjoy the new chapters!_  
_- yell0w_

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**Chapter five**

"Hey, Jake!"

"Oh, hello Marceline," Jake said and smiled at me a little nervously. "Finn's not here right now. He's at school. And you should be too, right?"

"No, I, ah - I dropped out," I said. "Maybe you can let me in. Unless you're busy, of course."

I knew he had some time for me. Sometimes he was really busy, but usually not. Jake had a freelance webdesign business together with his girlfriend Lady and a few others. He could make and shift his schedules to his own likings, as long as he'd meet the deadlines. I always told him he was very lucky with his little company, especially since the business made enough money to support the expenses of few the people that worked there.

"I was busy, actually, but it can wait," Jake said.

Told ya.

I grinned. He let me in and led me to the kitchen, where we would usually sit whenever I came over.  
The living room in the house was pretty much useless. When there were guests, they would always talk while sitting at the dinner table; and Finn and Jake spent most of the other time upstairs, where Jake's office, the bedrooms and what they called the 'television room' were.

"You want some coffee?" he asked.

"Yeah, why not," I replied. I pulled up a chair and sat down at the dinner table while Jake made coffee for me and hot cocao for himself.

"Two sugar, right?" he said while looking at me.

I nodded. I liked my coffee a little sweet. Jake turned around again and continued messing around with mugs and a kettle.

"It's been a while since we last saw eachother," he said. "And I don't think Finn has talked to you either, besides the invitation for that performance you had last night. Sorry that we couldn't come, by the way. I had to go with Jermaine to the hospital and I coulnd't let Finn go all the way on his own. He's only thirteen."

"Yeah, I know. Is your brother alright? Jermaine, I mean, not Finn."

"Jermaine's okay. He's just really scared of doctors."

"Pfff, alright," I laughed. "But you guys do have to come next time, alright?"

"Just tell us when the next performance is and we'll be there," he said. "Finn is really excited to see you guys again after such a long time."

"Well, we were too, I can tell you. It was great to be back again."

Jake smiled. He finished troubling with the mugs and put them on the table. Then he sat down across from me. "So, why'd you drop out?"

I sighed. "Remember that I told you guys how much trouble I was having in college?"

He nodded.

"Well, that's most of the reason."

I then explained to him how bad I'd been doing, how shitty my grades were and that I just wanted to focus on making music. After that I told him about how The Scream Queens were doing and Jake told me about his work and how Finn was doing in school. He said Finn wasn't very good at math, so Jake had asked a friend of his to help his little brother. We continued to talk some more about trivial things and sipped our coffee and cocao.  
After a while I looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was almost half past twelve. I told Jake I had to leave for work. He nodded understandingly.

"Let me know when you and your friends are gonna perform again, alright?" he said.

"Yeah, alright," I replied. "Say hi to Finn for me."

"Sure," he said and smiled. After that, he led me out. We said our goodbyes and I started to walk back to the station.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I tol you guys I would update after a few minutes, didn't I? Sorry that chapter five and six are this short, number seven will most likely be considerably longer. Enjoy!  
- yell0w_

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**Chapter six**

I arrived at the station a some twenty-five minutes later. Fortunately, The Mugholder was across the street from the station, and I arrived just in time to start my shift.  
I went in the alley that led to the back of the building and went inside the backdoor that led to the storage room. I walked past the shelves with all the boxes and supplies on them to the other side of the room where the door to the lunch room was. The lunch room was where the lockers were (the kind that were also in high schools).  
I went to the one that I usually used, one that was a dull kind of green, and put my jacket and my bag in it. I quickly retrieved my apron from the bag and put it on, before closing the door and turning around.

"Good God, you're finally here!"

I looked up to see a smiling Mr. Way.  
Mr. Way was a tall man (almost a foot taller than me, and I usually already tower over people) and he had a thick black moustache. Most of the time, he was in a really good mood.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Way," I said.

"Good afternoon to you, Marceline. It's very busy, so get inside quickly!"

"Alright, sir," I answered and did as he had told me.

It was very busy indeed. Usually there were just a few people, but for some reason most of the shop was filled with customers and there was quite a queue before the counter. I sighed and joined my two colleagues who were already there.

A few hours, and many cups of coffee and tea later, all the bustle had died down and the other two colleagues had left, so it was just Mr. Way and I. He always helped until about eight or nine in the evening. After that time there weren't really much customers anymore, so I could handle it on my own.  
This time, Mr. Way had asked me if I could take on the shift from seven and on, because, he said, he had "an appointment with a ladyfriend". I laughed and said that I would be alright. And so, he left at seven.

Even though it had been really busy in the afternoon, the evening was really quiet and also quite boring. Well, at least at first.

I was leaning on the counter and reading some rock magazine that I had taken with me from home, when I heard the soft doorbell ring. I looked up and around. In the corner was the same trio of ladies that had been there the whole evening and save them, and the girl who had just entered the shop, there was no one around.  
I looked at the girl, who waved at me and came over.

"What a coincidence that see you again so soon!"

It was the girl I had run into just last night. I think I looked a little surprised, because she laughed.

"Good evening, Marceline," she said.

"Good evening, err..." I hesitated for a second. "I don't know your name."

"Oh, that's right! I never introduced myself properly," the girl said. She held out her hand and smiled when I grabbed it.

"Bonnibel Bubblegum," she introduced herself as. "Don't mind my silly surname."


	7. Hiatus notice until June 18th

_A/N: "Not again!" all of my readers shout collectively as I post another Author's Note instead of an actual update._

_I'm SO SORRY guys. The studying for my exams is taking a lot of my spare time (especially since I failed some of the previous ones)__ AND there's a lot of stuff going on at school and in my life in general; and I have absolutely no idea when I can update. (Maybe I shouldn't have started writing a story in the middle of my last year)  
For now, this story will be on hiatus. I really hate doing this because I want to just regularly update instead of disappointing you guys by not doing so, but I don't have any other choice._  
_My last exams (for this year, that is) will be over on the 18th of June, so I can promise you guys that I will update within a week after that last exam day. After that I have about 3 months of summer vacation and hopefully I'll be able to update twice a week during that time.  
- yell0w  
_


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